


Perfection and Felicity's Type

by CJ_fics



Series: World's End [3]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Jealous Oliver, established olicity, road trip fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-12
Updated: 2015-08-12
Packaged: 2018-04-14 09:06:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4558842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CJ_fics/pseuds/CJ_fics
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver revisits feelings of inadequacy when confronted with the fact that Felicity seems to have a type.</p>
<p>(I got prompted on Tumblr for a Jealous!Oliver fic and this is what I came up with.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Perfection and Felicity's Type

Benjamin Bell was a tall, well-built, good-looking man, who took care of children with cancer as a pediatric oncologist at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre in Boston -- and Oliver Queen hated him.

He had been lying in bed with Felicity in a cottage outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico, cuddling and resting between rounds of lovemaking, when Felicity told him about Benjamin Bell. The six-month relationship Felicity had shared with the man was her reprieve after Cooper's 'suicide'. He was the first man that Felicity had allowed herself to be with after Cooper, her second sexual partner. She told him about how she met Bell -- in a mixer between post-grad students from MIT and Harvard -- and how it surprised Felicity to feel attraction to another man after Cooper. They had dated, had fun together, and were intimate until Felicity took the job offer at Queen Consolidated and moved to Starling City. The had tried to maintain a relationship until the distance became too much for them. They had separated amicably.

At that time, Benjamin Bell did not bother Oliver. He was a distant ex that he thought Felicity had remained fond of because of the circumstances of their relationship and their friendly break-up. No matter how perfect Benjamin Bell sounded from Felicity's description, he was a distant figure to Felicity -- and therefore, to Oliver.

But now, standing outside of Firebrand Saints in Kendall Square near MIT, and witnessing Felicity smile and hug the good doctor they had just into, there's a sinking feeling in Oliver's stomach that had become familiar to Oliver ever since he saw Felicity and Ray kissing in his former office. 

* * *

 

_Inadequacy_ , he tells himself, willing himself to stand tall, _that bottoming-out feeling in his stomach as that of inadequacy._

"Oliver, come meet Ben," Felicity calls out to him in a pleased voice, reaching out to touch Oliver's forearm.

He steps closer and extends his hand to the slightly shorter man, telling himself to not be smug about the extra two inches he had on Felicity's ex, "Oliver Queen."

"Benjamin Bell," the other guy responds with a big smile that reminded Oliver of Ray Palmer's grin, "Nice to meet you."

Before Oliver could respond, Bell turns his attention back to Felicity, his smile growing wider, "And you! I can't believe you're back in Boston! You should have let me know, we could have planned something special. How long are you staying?"

"Oliver and I are just traveling around these days, so we don't plan where we're ending up in," Felicity says, clasping her right hand to Oliver's left and squeezing.

"Seriously?" Bell says fondly, "That doesn't seem like you, Smoak! You always have a plan."

"Well," Felicity begins staring up at Oliver with a smile in her eyes, he looks back at her just as fondly, "We needed a break."

"How long are you staying?" Bell asks, interrupting the exchange of gazes between Oliver and Felicity.

"Oh, we don't know, I kind of want to take Oliver around Massachusetts. Maybe go to World's End," Felicity answers.

"Are you guys about to have dinner here?" Bell asks, "Because, if you don't mind, I'd like to invite you both to join me. I've got a regular table here. One of the chef's kid was a patient."

Felicity looks at Oliver to consult on a decision. She had felt Oliver become more tense as Ben kept on talking, and she didn't want him to be uncomfortable. Oliver nods at her and sees the eagerness to catch up with someone she considers an old friend in her eyes, and nods.

"Lead us, Ben!" Felicity says.

As the evening progressed, and Felicity and Bell caught up on common friends and reminisced about all things Boston, Oliver's hatred for the Bell grew. He knew he was being unfair. He knew that Felicity has had to deal with his own exes over the years, and had been nothing but gracious and kind (with the exception of Helena, of course). He knew that he had to extend the same courtesy to Felicity's ex as she has had for his.

But Bell, his perfection, his similarity to Ray Palmer as far as achievements go, the huge teeth-y smile on his face, the curly strand of hair that rested on his forehead like it was meant to do that, the fondness with which Felicity interacted with him, grated on Oliver. So, he mostly kept quiet throughout dinner, whispering to Felicity, when she asked him why he was being so quiet, that he wanted her to catch up with Bell without interference. She had given him a look that said she wasn't buying his bullcrap and that this conversation was not over. Oliver just took a sip of his water in response.

At the end of dinner and the evening, Bell folded Felicity in a hug and told her that they should be better at keeping in touch from this point forward. Felicity agreed and gave him her number. Oliver tried his best not to scowl as he folded his arms on his chest.

As they drove back to their hotel in Boston Common, Felicity has finally had enough, "What's with the silence, Oliver?"

"Noth--"

"And don't tell me nothing, mister," she interrupts, "What's up?"

"Can we wait until we're in our room to talk about this?" Oliver answers.

"Fine," Felicity sighs, folding her arms on her chest and looking away from Oliver to gaze as speeding scenery from the side window.

"Hey," Oliver urges, reaching over the console to take her hand, unfolding her arms, and resting their clasped hands on his thigh, "Don't worry about it."

She doesn't say anything but allows him to keep holding her hand.

They stay that way until they reach their hotel.

\--------------

"Is it Ben?" she asks in a tentative voice as he closes the door to their hotel suite, "Did he do or say anything that upset you?"

"No, Felicity, of course not. The guy's perfect," Oliver responds, sitting on the bench at the foot of their bed and running his hand at the back of his head.

"The -- guy --" Felicity sputters as she turns face Oliver, "What?"

"He's perfect, Felicity! He saves children from cancer! He's clearly still in love with you!" Oliver sighs heavily. Then says sarcastically, "You clearly have a type, BTW."

"Oliver!" she stomps her foot in frustration -- a part of Oliver thinks she looks so adorable when she does that. "What are you talking about?"

"Bell, Palmer, they're cut from the same cloth," Oliver says sulkily "Perfect, good-looking, successful, would give you the world -- Can give you the world!"

"Oliver," Felicity sits next to him, tears in her eyes, cupping jaw to get him to face her, "You know I love you, right? That I don't want to be with anyone else. You know that, right?"

"I do," he says, giving her as sad smile, "Maybe you shouldn't."

"What? Oliver, where is this coming from?" Felicity cries.

Oliver sighs as he twists his head to look down and away from her eyes, "You know the first time I ever felt inadequate? It wasn't when I flunked out of the fourth Ivy League. It wasn't any of the times that my dad sat me down to tell me to shape up or give me an ultimatum to be better. It wasn't when I realised that Laurel was in love with Tommy. It wasn't when Slade Wilson beat me at everything. It wasn't when I lost Queen Consolidated. It wasn't any of those times. You'd think I'd have enough practice at feeling that way, given the number of times I've fucked up."

"When then?" Felicity asks softly, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"The first time I saw you kissing Palmer," he admits, "I went to your office after fighting Cupid because Digg said you heard what I told her and that you were upset. I wanted to -- I don't know -- maybe comfort you or something. As I knocked on your door I saw you and Palmer. There was a sinking feeling in my stomach then, I wasn't prepared for it. I didn't know what it was until I had enough experience with it and the remembrance that came with it of every little thing I have done to warrant that feeling."

"Oh, Oliver," Felicity sniffs, clutching his arm tightly, "I'm sorry --"

"Don't you dare apologise, Felicity," he cuts her off, "You did nothing wrong. That wasn't on you. You had the perfect man chasing after you, and you shouldn't apologise for taking that chance on him."

"There was no risk though, Oliver," Felicity says, "Not with Ray, not with Ben, not even with Cooper."

"What do you mean?" Oliver turns his head to look at her.

"With Cooper, it happened slowly. We had our computer thing in common and I respected him for his skill. When he asked me out, it just felt like I was going out with a friend I was attracted to. Don't get me wrong, at that time, I thought it was love. I was 18. Then he died because of something that I did. No, he killed himself because he would rather have died than spend a lifetime in prison for something that I created. I held on to him because of the weight of that responsibility and remorse," Felicity explains.

She continues, "Ben -- well, he was such a relief from the darkness of Cooper. I needed that at that time. A reprieve. And I did care about him  but I didn't even think about what it would do to our relationship when the offer to go work for QC came. I made a decision for myself and the thought of my relationship with Ben was not even secondary in my mind."

She takes a deep breath, "I wanted things to work with Ray. I really did. He was safe, he was available, he was perfect. He wanted to be with me, he wanted to be my partner. And I tried. I really did."

"I know you did, Felicity," Oliver interjects softly, reaching a hand out to stroke her ear.

"Until he told me that he loved me," Felicity says, "And I couldn't say it back."

"Why?"

"Because I realised then that he could never be the one I love. My heart wasn't mine to give to anyone anymore. Because it belonged to you," Felicity smiles. She raises her head from his shoulder and looks him in the eye, "Remember when I told you that you opened up my heart in ways that I could never have imagined?"

"Yes," he says gently, fingers brushing strands of hair that had escaped her ponytail away from her face.

"I meant that, Oliver. You challenge me, you make me better, you trust me to be more than I could ever imagine of myself, and it's scary, Oliver. Sometimes how I feel with you -- about you -- scares me," Felicity says, "But the funny thing is, while I'm scared, I feel safe with you. You make me feel like I can conquer the world, Oliver -- even though it's scary. You make me feel good about myself -- all the trust, all the belief, all the love you have for me -- that makes me believe that I am worth all of that."

"Felicity--"

"Let me finish," she urges, "With you, I have risked myself -- my heart, my life, everything I have to give. You thrill me as you make me feel so safe with you. Do you know how liberating that is? How free I feel with you, Oliver? No one can ever compare to that, to you, Oliver."

Oliver turns his body towards her to cup her face to look her straight in the eyes, "I love you."

"And I love you," she smiles back before he bends down to engulf her lips in a passionate kiss.

He puts his arms around her, stroking her back as she scratches his scalp with her fingers as she runs her other hand up and down his chest, their tongues tangling. Oliver sucks her tongue deeper into his mouth, reveling in the gasp and moan that she lets out at the action. He nibbles on her tongue, wanting to give her as much pleasure and to hear more of the sexy sounds she makes.

Oliver moves to stand up from the bench without breaking their lip lock, Felicty wraps her legs around his hips so she could stay in his arms. He lifts her higher in his arms as he walks to their bed, sitting down so she could straddle him.

Needing to catch their breaths, they pull their mouths away from each other. Oliver immediately goes for the spot behind Felicity's ear that always makes her go wild with lust. He runs his tongue on the soft spot, alternately licking, sucking and nibbling, groaning at the way Felicity rubs herself on him as she moans at the sensation.

"Oliver, undress me," she commands softly. He nods and reaches for the zipper behind her short summer dress.

\-----------

After, they face each other on the bed, gently running hands all over each others' torsos.

"Would you like for us to spend time with Ben while we're in Boston?" Oliver asks tentatively.

"You're thinking about Ben right now?" Felicity raises an eyebrow, "Maybe I should try harder."

"No, I was just thinking--"

"You can think after all of that? I really should try harder," Felicity teases, her hand tracing the V on his hips, dangerously approaching the part of him that was about three seconds away from full recovery.

"Hey, Lust Muffin," Oliver teases back, chuckling softly, "I'm trying to be a supportive and non-jealous boyfriend here."

"You are -- you don't have to prove anything to me," Felicity says, "And, no, I really don't want to spend our vacation with Ben."

"Are you sure? Because I'll totally be cool, if you want to spend time with your friend, Felicity."

"I'm sure, I love our bubble, Oliver," Felicity answers, "I mean, if we run into him -- or any other friend, yours or mine -- then we can spend a few hours with them. But the rest? I kinda want you all to myself."

Oliver smiles and nods, "Good."

"Great!" Felicity exclaims, "Shower before round three?"

"How about round three while we shower?" Oliver suggests waggling his eyebrows at her teasingly.

"See? Perfection! I'm keeping you," Felicity teases before moving to get out of bed.

Oliver smiles helplessly at her, shaking his head before picking her up and carrying her to the bathroom.

/end

 

**Author's Note:**

> Original post and prompt here: http://outoftheclosetshipper.tumblr.com/post/126519526688/could-you-write-a-jealous-oliver-fic-maybe


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